We’re no strangers to the art of storytelling. A few episodes ago, Daniel chatted to the master of video advertising campaigns, Benton Crane from Harmon Brothers. Today, we’re delighted to welcome renowned commercial filmmaker and video marketer, Josh Henry, to The Ecom Show!
Josh is the Owner, Producer, and Director of LampHouse Films and host of the Marketing Conversations podcast. LampHouse Films specializes in film-driven marketing campaigns that sell with storytelling. If you want to get into top-tier video marketing, you don’t want to miss this episode!
Tune in to hear Daniel and Josh discuss:
?? How Josh Became a Commercial Filmmaker
?? Josh?s Approach to Video Advertising
?? The Difference Between TV Ads and Social Media Ads
?? Common Misconceptions About Video Marketing
How Josh Became a Commercial Filmmaker
Surprisingly, Josh didn’t grow up watching a ton of movies. He did however grow up telling stories. The first instance he remembers occurred in elementary school. Josh was riding his bike down a hill when he fell and scraped his knee. A minor injury, but a great story.
?I remember the next day telling and retelling the story of me falling off my bike 10 times or more, realizing where I would get reactions and finessing the way I controlled the narrative to make it more surprising or funny. I was just addicted to the adrenaline of telling people stories and capturing their imagination.?
In high school, Josh discovered film as the medium that he could tell stories most effectively. He was doing a weekly YouTube comedy show when he met Michael Schmucker, a commercial filmmaker. They partnered up 8 years ago and founded LampHouse Films – now they’re thriving together in the commercial film industry.
Josh?s Approach to Video Advertising
LampHouse Film primarily focuses on commercial film. Increasingly, much of this has been in ?cultural videos?. Over the past two years, many companies have been struggling with growth, often finding it difficult to retain or find new employees. Increasingly, CEOs are turning to films to explain company culture.
So what?s the approach to these kinds of videos?
For any type of video, Josh says, you must know your audience. Who are you talking to? Imagine you’re in the room while your audience is watching your video. Are there parts you’re going to cringe at? Read your script out loud – are there parts you hate saying?
The challenge is with ?culture videos? is that your audience is people who know the company. Unlike a product promotion, you’re not introducing yourself the first time. You cannot stretch the truth at all. Josh sees this as a great exercise in video marketing, ?culture videos? suggest a new level of scrutiny you have to rise to.
The Difference Between TV Ads & Social Media Ads
Generally, Josh?s clients with the biggest ROI are the ones who are running their ads on TV. However, these ads cost millions of dollars. Marketers with a lower budget of 100s of 1000s or 10s of 1000s are going to get a much better ROI online. It only really makes sense to go to TV, Josh explains, if you’re trying to spend a lot of money.
One of the biggest differences between TV ads and social media ads is that people can’t skip a TV ad. In a social media ad, the marketer has 3 – 5 seconds to hook their audience. While Josh finds it a ?fun challenge?, he also finds it ?creatively stifling?. TV ads give him the freedom to explore a long setup and reveal.
You also have to make sure that your video advertisement belongs on its respective platforms. TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram and very distinct styles of video advertising. TikTok, for example, is very heavy on user-generated content (UGC) and vertical video. Putting a high production style ad on TikTok will seem rather intrusive.
Whatever platform he?s advertising on, Josh is passionate about making LampHouse ads as authentic and honest as possible. Manufacturing some controversy around your product could go viral on TikTok, or it could alienate consumers.
?With LampHouse we’re not trying to create ads that don’t look like ads, ads that are tricking you into thinking that it’s organic content. We make ads that feel like ads, they’re not pretending that they’re not trying to sell you something. They feel like they belong where they are.?
Common Misconceptions About Video Marketing
Josh has met a few clients who believe that a good video advert can be spliced together with footage all around the same idea. You need to know your goals before you start filming. Understand your core need. This is integral to creating a clear video marketing campaign that your audience will understand and love.
If you’re interested in filmmaking and video marketing, visit LampHouse Films, follow Josh on LinkedIn, and check out the Marketing Conversations podcast!
Thank you for listening! We come out with new episodes every Thursday, so stay tuned!
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